1. Field of Invention
This invention is a process to shorten substantially the cooking time of dried legume beans.
2. Description of Prior Art
The seasonal production of agricultural staples is usually larger than the immediate consumer demand; therefore, food processors dry a a large portion of crop surpluses in order to provide a year-round supply and to minimize spoilage. Fresh vegetables take little time to cook; dried beans, especially, require much longer preparation.
I visited several large food supermarkets to compare the cooking instructions printed on packages of dried beans. An assortment of beans sold under national brand names and house brands in Safeway, Lucky, Raley, and Andronico stores indicated very similar preparation instructions: Great Northern, Small White, Pinto beans and lentils require overnight soaking or 6 to 8 hours of soaking before cooking for 1 to 11/2 hours. Dried Navy beans need 3 hours of cooking after overnight soaking. Dried Lima beans require the least preparation time: "bring to a boil for three minutes, let stand for one hour, then simmer for 1 to 11/2 hours." Dried beans are inexpensive; the median price per pound is 65 cents and 50 cents for bulk beans sold from an open barrel. Unfortunately, the demand for these inexpensive, wholesome foods is lukewarm; only a small percentage of consumers buy unprepared dried beans because of the advance planning required to cook them for a meal. In addition, some varieties of dried beans cooked in this manner give rise to digestive system discomforts in the form of flatulence.
Unseasoned canned beans are convenient to use. The contents can be heated for a supplement to a meal or the liquids can be drained from the can to prepare a cold salad. In any case, the cook has little control in cooking to taste; it is the cannery which has determined how well done the contents are. Canned beans are more expensive: a one pound can of Lima beans costs $1.65; Garbanzo, Kidney, and Pinto beans, 77 cents. The cost per pound is further increased because the liquid in the can, at least one-fourth of the volume, is discarded. Thus the per pound price of the canned Lima beans becomes $2.20 and that of the Garbanzo, Kidney, and Pinto beans $1.02.
The frozen food section of the above-named stores offers only two choices of dried beans which are partly precooked before freezing: Lima beans requiring 10-15 minutes of cooking and 30 minutes for Blackeye peas but the quality of these two convenience products suffers: they acquire a mushy consistency when fully cooked. Because of increased processing, these handy products are expensive: frozen Lima beans and Blackeye peas are priced at $2.23 per pound.
A small assortment of precooked dried beans in powder form is available at health food stores and some supermarkets. Instructions on the packages call for adding a specified quantity of water, mixing thoroughly, stirring, and allowing the mixture to stand for 10 minutes. Cooking requires only an additional 10 to 12 minutes. These products are tasty and easily prepared but have the consistency of mashed potatoes. Such highly processed convenience food is very expensively priced: $4.23 per pound.
The use of a pressure cooker is an expedient method of reducing the combined preparation and cooking time of dried beans. Dispensing with overnight or prior soaking and using 15 lbs of steam pressure, Garbanzo beans require 80 minutes; Great Northerns need 50 minutes; Pintos and small Limas, 45; and split peas only 15 minutes. The use of pressure cookers does eliminate prior soaking and shortens cooking time. However, once popular pressure cookers have now fallen out of favor as a time-saving cooking utensil due to the inability of the appliance to deliver consistently acceptable results. Often the cooker delivers surprisingly undercooked or overcooked results. This is due to variations in those factors which have a direct influence on the cooking time of dried beans: geographical origin, age, degree of dryness, and the type of water used. In addition, there can be mechanical problems with the cooker: gaskets may not seat properly., causing pressure leaks, and pressure gauges sometimes fail due to clogging.